The present invention relates to a method of reducing the mercury emissions for coal-fired power plants.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in its Utility Air Toxins Report to Congress-February 1998 concluded that xe2x80x9cmercury from coal-fired power plants is a serious concern. Power plants account for about 52 tons of annual manmade mercury emissions in the country.xe2x80x9d The report stated that EPA has been unable to identify any currently feasible, commercially available technology for reducing these emissions. It recommends xe2x80x9cfurther evaluation of potential control strategiesxe2x80x9d (see www.epa.gov/region2/health/mercury.htm).
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) indicated that it xe2x80x9cwants to develop a wider array of mercury control options for power plants that can reliably reduce emissions by 50 to 70% by 2005 and 90% by 2010.xe2x80x9d (See www.netl.doe.gov/publications/press/2001/tl_mercurysel2.html)
A variety of previous attempts have been made to capture mercury.
Ide et al describe the conversion of mercury into mercuric chloride via addition of acidic chlorine containing material, especially hydrogen chloride, into mercury-containing gaseous emissions (see Ide, Akiro et al. 1988. xe2x80x9cProcess for Cleaning Mercury-Containing Gaseous Emissionsxe2x80x9d. U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,882). This mercury removal technique requires massive hydrogen chloride injection into mercury containing flue gas, at HCl levels of 500 to 1500 ppm, which would result in excessive corrosion of coal fired power plant steel components. Furthermore, combination of this technique with subsequent hydrogen chloride/mercuric chloride containing flue gas in a wet flue gas desulphurization system (FGD) containing alkali for purposes of sulphur dioxide adsorption from flue gas as a sulphite, bisulphate, bisulphate, or sulphate would result in unacceptable consumption of alkali scrubbing chemicals by the adsorbed hydrogen chloride. Therefore, this technique for mercury control is not believed to be commercially viable in coal-fired power plants.
Felsvang et al describe mercury absorption between 110-170xc2x0 C. in the presence of chlorides, especially hydrogen chloride and alkaline xe2x80x9cbasic absorbentxe2x80x9d introduced as an aqueous aerosol suspension (Felsvang, K et al. 1995. xe2x80x9cMethod for Improving the Hg-Removing Capability of a Flue Gas Cleaning Processxe2x80x9d. U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,980). This technique requires the use of substantial expensive capital equipment foreign to conventional coal fired power plants. It does not utilize existing flue gas desulphurization equipment. Furthermore, alkaline sorbent designed to remove mercuric chloride is partially wasted by hydrogen chloride unreacted with mercury. Finally, its excessive use of hydrogen chloride, especially at 110-170xc2x0 is certain to cause highly undesirable corrosion of steel containing surfaces in coal-fired power plants to iron chlorides.
Meichen and Pelt al describe the use of precious metals, especially gold, to catalytically convert elemental mercury Hgxc2x0 to mercuric chloride HgCl2 in flue gas (Meischen, S. and J. Van Pelt. 2000. xe2x80x9cMethod to Control Mercury Emissions from Exhaust Gasesxe2x80x9d. U.S. Pat. No. 6,136,281). This process is limited to oxidation of mercury to mercuric chloride in flue gas below 300xc2x0 C. due to undesirable loss of gold as volatile gold trichloride. This technique requires the use of substantial expensive capital equipment foreign to conventional coal fired power plants plus the use of very expensive precious metal catalysts.
Biswas and Wu describe the irradiation of solid particles with light, especially ultraviolet light, to induce catalytic photo-oxidation of mercury to forms capable of being adsorbed by solid particles (Biswas, P. and C. Wu. 2001. xe2x80x9cProcess for the Enhanced Capture of Heavy Metal Emissionsxe2x80x9d. U.S. Pat. No. 6,248,217). Unfortunately, this technique requires the use of substantial expensive capital equipment foreign to conventional coal fired power plants plus the use of consumable metal catalysts.
Amrhein describes the use of existing wet flue gas desulphurization systems to capture oxidized mercury in a manner which inhibits undesirable partial conversion of adsorbed oxidized mercury back to volatile elemental mercury (Amrhein, Gerald T. 2001. xe2x80x9cMercury Removal in Utility Wet Scrubber Using a Chelating Agentxe2x80x9d. U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,939). The disadvantage of this method is that it requires effective but expensive chelating agents with potential problems due to chelation of scrubber metal components with chelates.
Previous publications have indicated that alkaline fly ash containing solids have an affinity for mercury capture. For instance, Galbreath and Zygarlicke have shown that subbituminous coal ash can capture a portion of mercury in a flue gas (Galbreath, Kevin C. and Christopher Zygarlicke. 2000. xe2x80x9cMercury Transformations in Coal Combustion Flue Gasxe2x80x9d. Fuel Processing Technology. 65-66, pages 289-310, @ page 304). They also indicated that hydrogen chloride spiking of flue gas inhibited mercury capture by alkaline solids, such as calcium hydroxide or alkaline fly ash by neutralizing the alkaline sites able to complex mercury, especially oxidized mercury. U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,235 issued to Oehr and Yao describes the addition of a fossil fuel and additive in a combustion zone to achieve the following results alone or in combination: accelerated combustion, desulphurization, nitrogen oxides emission reduction, pozzolanic or cementitious products production or combustor anti-fouling (Oehr, Klaus H. and Felix Z. Yao. 2001. xe2x80x9cMethod and Product for Improved Fossil Fuel Combustionxe2x80x9d. U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,235). This is achieved by fusing alkali, such as calcium oxide, to coal ash and sulphur, while the coal is burning, via a flux. Full scale testing of this patented method, using bituminous coal in a 100 megawatt power plant, resulted in 45% reduction of mercury emissions as compared to testing without the use of above fuel additive. X-ray analysis of the resulting fly ash indicated that the normally acidic bituminous fly ash had been converted to an alkaline form containing alkaline cementitious crystals not unlike those found in subbituminous or lignite based fly ash as well as containing small amounts of alkaline calcium oxide and calcium hydroxide.
It is also well known that elemental mercury (Hgxc2x0) can be absorbed by activated carbon. Adsorption improves as the temperature of the carbon is reduced or if the carbon is impregnated with halogen species, such as iodine or chlorides and/or sulphides. Unfortunately the use of activated carbon requires extremely high carbon to mercury ratios e.g. 3000-100,000 to 1 carbon to mercury weight ratios. Injection of activated carbon into the cool zones of coal combustors ahead of the ESPs, FFs or BHs, results in unacceptable contamination of coal ash with carbon for purposes of ash recycling into cement/concrete applications.
Finally, previous publications have described the capture of mercury by scrubbing solutions containing oxidants. For instance Mendelsohn describes contacting elemental mercury containing flue gas with oxidizing solutions of halogens to effect mercury capture as a mercuric halide (Mendelsohn, M. H. 1999. xe2x80x9cMethod for the Removal of Elemental Mercury from a Gas Streamxe2x80x9d. U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,042). This technique is not believed to be commercially viable for any or all of the following reasons:
Mercury capture is inadequate. A maximum of 71.1% and 69.6% mercury removal was demonstrated for bromine and chlorine containing solutions respectively.
Halogen reagents are wasted due to the undesirable consumption of halogen oxidant by sulphur dioxide in the flue gas.
Mercury capture does not utilize existing capital equipment including ESPs, FFs, BHs or FGDs. Expensive additional capital equipment is required. Addition of xe2x80x9cbubblersxe2x80x9d or liquid scrubbers into a coal-fired power plant would substantially increase pressure drops through the system thereby increasing equipment sizing requirements (e.g. air blowers). This would increase both capital and operating costs for the operation of air blowers.
Mercury capture, with the least expensive chlorine containing solutions, is reduced in the absence of nitric oxide. Clearly NOx removal by technology upstream of the bubbler such as selective catalytic reduction (SCR) or selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) would dramatically reduce mercury removal further.
Previous systems for mercury control have been underutilized systems such as electrostatic precipitators (ESPs), wet flue gas desulphurization systems (FGDs), fabric filters (FFs) and baghouses (BHs) for mercury control. Such systems have suffered from a variety of mercury control related problems such as the following:
Injection of excessive levels of acid hydrogen chloride into real or simulated coal combustion flue gas resulting in destruction of alkaline solids able to capture mercury, especially oxidized mercury species such as mercuric chloride, and potential corrosion of metal surfaces such as steel surfaces found in power plants.
Use of excessive levels of expensive supplementary capital equipment and/or chemicals including wet scrubbers, photocatalysts, ultraviolet light generators, precious metals, activated carbon, chelates etc.
Inadequate conversion of mercury to forms, such as mercuric halides for example mercuric chloride, adsorbable by alkaline solids such as alkaline fly ash or alkali fused acidic fly ash to render it alkaline (e.g. bituminous coal fly ash).
The current invention relates to the enhanced capture of mercury in coal combustion systems via enhanced conversion of mercury to mercuric halide species adsorbable by alkaline solids such as fly ash, alkali fused acidic ash (e.g. bituminous ash), dry FGD solids such as calcium oxide, calcium hydroxide or calcium carbonate in ESPs, FFs or BHs in the presence or absence of liquids such as wet FGD scrubber solutions. The current invention further relates to producing mercury containing fly ash, suitable for use in cementitious applications, thereby eliminating undesirable discharge of mercury to landfills from a fly ash source.
According to the invention, there is provided a method of treating coal combustion flue gas, preferably that obtained after the xe2x80x9csuperheaterxe2x80x9d section of a coal-fired plant, for example the economizer inlet (Singer, Joseph G editor. 1991. Combustion Fossil Power. Combustion Engineering, Inc. Windsor, Conn., page 5-10), with a source of molecular halogen, such as chlorine gas or a thermolabile alkali metal hypohalite, for example calcium hypochlorite solution able to convert mercury rapidly to mercuric chloride, easily adsorbable by alkaline solids such as subbituminous fly ash, lignite fly ash, alkali fused bituminous fly ash or alkaline dry FGD solids capturable by ESPs, FFs, BHs alone or ahead of a liquid such as a wet FGD scrubbing liquor.
Either molecular halogen such as chlorine gas, and/or bromine gas and/or iodine can be injected, or a molecular halogen precursor such as calcium hypochlorite can be injected into the flue gas. Molecular halogen precursors such as calcium hypochlorite can be used as a whole or partial source of the alkaline solids desirable for oxidized mercury adsorption, e.g. mercuric halide such as mercuric chloride. Molecular halogen precursors containing calcium are particularly desirable in cases where the fly ash or alkali fused fly ash is intended to be used for cementitious applications e.g. in concrete or blended cements.